Korea Life Blog - At the Hagwon (4) - Halloween


Well, tomorrow is Halloween. Our school doesn't do anything special for it, thank God. At the nightmare Wonderland school I first worked at in Geoje-do, we spent weeks (mostly in our break time) making decorations, costumes, a cheesy haunted house in a classroom, and planning real trick-or-treating at the parents' high rise apartments. Here I take it upon myself as yet another chance to have the kids draw and color while I sit back, relax, write in my journal or read the newspaper secretly tucked inside my "lessons" folder. First I passed out a sheet of Halloween monsters and then had them draw what they wanted. Let's have a look at what Class 2 from today came up with. (Sorry about the poor picture quality again...not sure what happened).



This one is pretty cute. I love the red and blue theme and smeared (drunk ajumma?) lipstick. Is it me or does it look like the witch was stabbed with the broom instead of riding on it?



Here's the Grim Reaper. I love the blue face and green sickle. Best yet, his evil? smile. If the Grim Reaper exists, I hope he looks like this.



Here's what Fiona drew. That's supposed to be me there hanging out in the graveyard, I guess, as I normally do on Halloween. I look pretty terrified of that angry ghost - and with good reason! In the next scene I've been reduced to 3 bleeding body parts! Thanks a lot, Fiona. (Note the Korean style graves. Those aren't tombstones, they are mounds of earth and grass.)



Hmm, I've yet to see a vampire that looks like this. I've yet to see a yellow pumpkin wearing an orange dress either.




Not a bad looking Zombie. I'm not sure if it's vomiting or if its insides are showing. Pretty gruesome either way.



If this were America, this kid would be taking a trip to the school psychologist. I'm not exactly sure what's going on in this scene, but it's pretty bloody. Apparently, while the helicopter pilot sprays water on the ghosts, a superhero? swoops down, takes off his clothes and throws a gernade on a grave, causing blood to erupt like a volcano and a severed head to appear.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Strange Conglomerations (3)



Things that I can see in this conglomeration are:

1. a 24 hour spa/sauna on the top floor
2. a wedding hall below the sauna
3. a "Mi-shee-gan" language school, I guess referring to Michigan?
4. some kind of Lego center (hard to see but that's the Lego symbol beneath the wedding hall)
5. a dentist clinic
6. a bank
7. a couple of restaurants
8. a 24 hour convenient store in between two handphone stores.
9. a bakery
10. a bunch of other places I can't make out

The funniest part about this building in my opinion is the wedding hall. Can you imagine having your $25,000 Korean wedding in this place, right under a 24 hour Spa/Sauna and right above a Lego center?



Here's Homeplus. I guess Samsung and Tesco are also in on the deal. It's basically another shopping center like a Walmart Super Center back home but with more groceries. There's also a KFC, Lotteria, and Korean food court in this one. I like the electronics floor. They have everything from electric stoves on up to high-end flat-screen TVs (mostly Samsung go-figure) and notebook computers (Samsung, of course). I bought a couple of shirts and some boxer shorts. I don't like going in these places because they are usually very noisy, jammed pack with people and you have to wait 10 minutes to check-out. The upside is the salespeople leave you alone a lot more than in a small shop. I actually had to go find somebody when I had a question.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Ode to Chongak


Chongak: the name I gave to an orange and white cat with half a tail, one blind eye, a dirty, scruffy face and a loud, yearning meow that called out to anyone who would listen for a little kindness, a few minutes of attention and a scrap of food. Despite his obviously rough life and handicaps, he had a wonderful little spirit. For months I spotted him trotting all over town, biting through garbage bags for scraps of fish, meowing at the wind, chasing insects in the weeds, ducking rocks thrown by heartless kids, rolling around playfully in the dirt, and chasing after a cat called Agashi, who consistently rejected him, hissed and scratched at him. To see his face when she went into one of these rants always made me laugh. It was if he were thinking, "Oh no! not this routine again. Give it up and let's make a little Chongak." Eventually, poor thing, she had a kitten with another cat.

Along with the others, he grew to enjoy hanging around my backyard, a small, quiet safe-haven where the sun shines all morning and afternoon. That's when I started to give him tuna. At first, when I went out, he would hide until I had gone. But one night I went out late and he came out of the bushes meowing so happily, surprising me. I figured he was just extremely hungry, but when I dumped the tuna on a plate, he ignored it and jumped on my lap. Unlike the other strays around who are afraid of people and will take a scrap of food but claw your hand if you get too close, Chongak began to trust me. He had a very loud and affectionate purr and kneaded my leg with his paws. After a while he got up to eat the tuna. The mosquitos were biting, so I started back inside, but Chongak followed me - once again potentially giving up a delicious tuna dinner in return for more attention. When I went inside he meowed in the hallway for five minutes as if to say, "Hey come back, please, hey come on!" before eventually returning to the food. That's when I knew he was a special cat, and that's why I flew into a rage when I saw some kids taunting him outside my hagwon as he meowed for the kind Chinese food ajushi. If you could have seen the way he approached those students with his loveable meow, his little trot, his half a tail, his blind eye - you would have felt the same. If they had been my age, I would have been deported for throwing punches.

Well, as you know Chongak came back to my house that night and I let him in, fed him a delicious meal, brushed him for 20 minutes and let him sleep under my bed on the warm floor for an hour before he meowed to be let out. A part of me contemplated keeping the little guy, but my place is much too small, the nearest cat supplies are an hour away, and I have no idea where a veterinarian is. Also, it wouldn't be fair to pent up a little cat who is used to wandering about - especially when I don't know how long I'll be here.

As you may have guessed by now, Chongak died today. He was run over by a car. I was walking back to my apartment from my hagwon and saw his dead body in the road, a flat black spot with orange and white fur and the outline of a stumpy tail. While I had feared it would happen, it shocked me nonetheless. I wish I hadn't seen it. After a few days or weeks I could have thought he had been taken in or run off to some other part of town for the winter. But now I know he's gone.

For me, the little guy made Nowhere-dong a little more cozy and familiar. His presence gave me something to look forward to each day and night and I will truly miss him. The only comfort I can find is that for once in his miserable life, somebody really cared about him, gave him a little love and a few good meals. Briefly he experienced that and his purr showed me he appreciated it and was happy for that short time.

I'm sorry Chongak. I wish I could have done more for you little guy, and you will truly be missed. Rest in peace in cat heaven. I hope there you have fresh fish everyday, a new girlfriend, two good eyes and a full tail.


Sadly, I don't have any new pictures to show you. I kept thinking that sooner or later I'd take more. I wish you could see his dirty yet adorable face. For now I will go on feeding Agashi and the kitten, even though they don't let me pet them and don't have anywhere near the personality of Chongak.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Wonderland


Yet one more reason not to work at Wonderland. Read this article:


Koreans jail Canadian on dubious ground


You can also read the discussion thread here: ESL Cafe Thread


This article reminds me of the time my friend John quit his job at Megaton hagwon in Ulsan (don't ever work there!). The owner was outraged and I believe spiteful (they never got on well because they treated John differently as he was Australian - paid him less, made him work more hours, and encouraged him to speak American English). The boss claimed he found drugs at John's apartment while cleaning it and called the police. I'm not sure what he found, but my friend John did not take drugs and if he did, he was far too smart to leave anything behind like that. Luckily for John, he had already left the country for Thailand. However, when I informed him online of the situation he realized he could never come back to Korea for fear of being arrested and locked up. He ended up staying in Thailand and becoming a professor there. As for me, I ended up getting tested for drugs by the police for the simple reason I was his good friend. Needless to say I passed, but I was sweating bullets for the entire way through realizing how easy it would be for them to frame me.

OK, I just got a referral to this article:


Canadians caught in drug crackdown, not job scam


No matter what the outcome is, I advise anyone not to work at Wonderland (especially in Geoje-do) and more importantly I advise everyone not to even think about doing drugs in Korea. Nothing has changed about that.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Summer and Winter


In Korea there are four seasons - technically. However, having lived here for several years, I can attest that there are really two seasons: summer and winter. Just about a month ago I was coming home in sweat, wearing a T-shirt. Fall came and just as quickly fall went. There were about 4 weeks of ideal weather. Starting last week the temperature has dropped day by day. Tonight I'm wearing a heavy sweater and a jacket, the wind is whipping, it's plain cold.



I snapped this picture outside my window today. Actually, that's a total lie. I stole this picture off the net. It hasn't started snowing. And when it does, it won't be anything like back in New York. But it gets equally as cold here. Good thing my apartment is warm. However, we only have space heaters in the school which is a real drag and my boss is a stickler about not using them until it's absolutely necessary. It was cold all day.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Adultery





When I was looking for the article in the paper today about 10 more foreign teachers here being arrested on drug charges, I came across an EFL Korea law website. One of the specific crimes to be aware of is adultery:


Korea is one of the few countries on earth that has adultery laws on the books that are enforced. I have only known of foreign men to be prosecuted for this, not women. If you are caught sleeping with someone's wife, you may have to pay the outraged husband thousands of dollars to prevent him from taking you to court. If he does choose to prosecute, article 241 of Korean law states you can face a jail term of up to two years.
Under Korean law, adultery is a serious criminal act and carries a serious consequences. If one spouse is caught having an adulterous affair with let's say an unmarried 25-year, single person, the other spouse can press a criminal charge against the adulterous spouse and put the spouse in jail, in addition to seeking civil damages. In addition, the spouse can press criminal charge against the person who knowingly had an affair with the adulterous spouse. (Therefore, if you are a single, you should avoid sexual relations with a married person at all costs.) A majority of Korean women favor keeping this law on adultery precisely because they perceive that this law could be used as a weapon against their husbands in divorce


I guess I'm doing the right thing avoiding the ajumma who misses the touch of warm hands and a hard body.

I'm not exactly sure how foreigners have gotten caught doing this? Are they caught red handed in the act? I wonder if one can get arrested based on accusation alone. It's best to avoid getting in any trouble in a foreign country. Based on what my friend told me about being in jail here, that's the last place on Earth anyone wants to be. My advice for the day: don't get overly friendly with any married women in Korea...and don't even think about taking drugs.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Decorative Tissue Box (1)


I just love the artwork on some of the tissue boxes here. You can buy American Kleenex here as well, but why would you want to.


A pretty scene of a small country cottage decorates this tissue box. There's something about it that makes me long to have a runny nose.

That reminds me of the joke:

Me: Is your nose running?

Victim: Yes, it is.

Me: (cackling with insane laughter) Well you'd better catch it before it runs out the door.

written by shawn matthews    -|link